Blizzard Entertainment recently announced that the signup period for the beta test of WarCraft III is now closed. The lucky few that are accepted will be notified by e-mail within the next several weeks. Blizzard anticipates that beta testing will last at least two to three months, if not longer, which gives those waiting for this title a rough time frame on when they might see the final release.

Those looking for more information on the beta testing can look up Blizzard's WarCraft III Beta Information Center, which features a FAQ and promises an online forum sometime in the future.

In other WarCraft III news, a new Night Elf unit, named the Huntress, has been added to the Races page. The Huntress, formerly known as the Sentinel, rides a giant Nightsabre panther and sports an Owl for a pet.

A new spell available to Necromancers, titled Raise Dead, has also recently been added to the Races page. The Raise Dead spell allows Necromancers to raise small bands of armies at will:

Raises multiple Skeleton Warriors to fight for youfor a limited time. Skeleton Warriors do not require food, but the unstable magics that animate them dissipate after a while, returning the Skeleton Warriors to dust.